4K i 



"tfcrS^ 



<' 



^ .'H^, CI ]5^*i^.- 



•;7"Zi-.fcC 



R/V Anton Bruun 



Originally the private yacht Aras built in 1931 by Bath Iron 

 Works of Bath, Maine. She was purchased by the Navy in 1941 

 for $250,000 and converted to the gunboat USS Williamsburg 

 (PG 56). After service in World War II she underwent conversion 

 to an amphibious force flagship and her hull designation was 

 changed to AGC 369. She then reported, in late 1945, to 

 Washington, D.C. to serve as presidential yacht for Presidents 

 Harry S. Truman and briefly, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her 

 presidential service ended in 1953 and she was laid-up until 1962 

 when she was then transferred to the National Science Founda- 

 tion and renamed the R/V Anton Bruun. The Foundation 



contracted with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to 

 undertake the conversion of the ship to a research vessel for 

 participation in a 4 year Indian Ocean Expedition. In 1968, 

 while final arrangements were being made to permanently 

 transfer the Anton Bruun to India, a floating dry dock s'unk, 

 unfortunately, with the ship in it. Since restoration proved 

 uneconomical, she was offered for sale by the Maritime 

 Administration and purchased by a commercial concern with the 

 intention of using her as a combination floating 

 hotel-restaurant-museum on the Salem River in New Jersey. 



Length: 243' 9" Displacement: 2,085 tons 



188 



